Objectives + Audience + Deliverables + Methodology

October 15, 2009

Expansion: This Place Projects intends to collect existing projects under the umbrella of “place-based” and facilitate discussion of these projects in a new light. This Place Projects will function much as a publishing imprint or record label, releasing new projects regularly.

Somewhere in Idaho.

Audience Response
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I hope to instill in my audience an understanding of the infinite levels of intricacy that emerge with the exploration and documentation of a place.

They will be content creators (artists, designers, musicians, writers, lecturers)
They will be content consumers (readers, viewers, listeners,)
They will contribute to conversation and participate on the blog and in person at interactive events.

I intend only to imprint their projects with the This Place Projects logo and release number, so in this sense the audience is not even co-designer, but the sole creator of their projects. I will promote, circulate and discuss the projects released with This Place Projects. Eventually, I hope to generate a sustainable financial model so I can help fund the production of projects.

The particular event I plan to hold for the purpose of presenting audience participation is a lunchtime lecture series. I will ask students to make five-minute presentations, including at least one image, of their hometowns.

My aunt and father in San Francisco, 1975. Old family photos serve as an impetus for me to dig deeper into my personal and family history in San Francisco.

Project M empowers young designers to take a step forward in using their skills for the greater good. The majority of their projects are place-based, focusing on improving specific neighborhoods, cities and rural communities. Their most recent location-based endeavor was in Detroit.

The musician Sufjan Stevens has embarked on an ambitious project to document and interpret each of America’s fifty states with an album. He has covered Illinois (2003) and Michigan (2005) thus far. If he should die before the project is completed, he will pass it on to another musician to complete. Rumor has it California, Oregon, Minnesota or Rhode Island is next on the list.

Harrell Fletcher’s Some People From Around Here worked with the town of Fairfield, California, to raise residents of the town to the status of celebrity.

Tucker Nichols made free maps for the project The Thing to give away in New York. The maps were of nothing and they were of everything. They took Nichols’ own interpretation of the City as their driving concept.

Why is it important to think about place?` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
We are global. We live in an increasingly global economy. As a planetary people, we share more cultural memes than ever before. Coca Cola has spread its tentacles into the far reaches of the globe. We can fly halfway around the globe in less than a day.

These things are not inherently bad. They simply call for a more measured, focused approach to understanding the distinct components of our specific locations.

The last time the American economy crumbled, the government responded by creating jobs through the Works Progress Administration. This project was far-reaching: it accomplished such feats as building the Hoover Damn, but also sent writers, artists, mural painters, and ethnographers out into the country to document the nuances of the cultural and regional landscape. The WPA acknowledged the importance of creativity in society while encouraging the embrace of the uniqueness of place.

It is becoming ever more important to connect back to place as a unique vehicle for understanding culture, politics, community, history, the environment and, most importantly, one’s situation in the world.

Naming
Is “THIS PLACE PROJECTS” a good enough name? Does it convey what I’m intending to convey?

Develop a plan for the website as a central hub for all things “This Place” related
-Is it a blog? Is it a site with a blog attached? Indexhibit? Cargo collective?
-What are the different functions of the site?
-How do I organize posts into categories based on function?
-How do I involve my audience? How do they submit projects, talk about projects? Can I invite collaborators to curate? Can I have guest posters on the blog? How is the site a destination for people interested in This Place Projects?

Develop content for siteFeatures of existing projects
Releases of new projects
Interviews with regional makers about their homes
Photo essays of travel and exploration
Other ideas that I will develop

Develop a visual identity for TPP
Big ideas: Archetypal • Standard • Timeless • Not gendered or regional
Applicable across many mediums (How can it be applied to all TPP projects?)
Good looking on the web, Good looking on many different print items (a stamp? a sticker?)
Variable within different contexts: Color, texture additions when in particular settings?
Develop a visual identity system with usage rules for myself to follow.